Island



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W. EVANS.

PICKER STICK OPERATING MBGHANISM FOB. LOMS.

INVENTOR- Patented July 17, 1888.

WITNESSES.

W'xlHam Evan.

UNiTED STATES PATENT Fries..

Y lWILLIAM EVANS, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

FlCCKER-LSTICK-OPERATING MECHANISM FOR L-OOMS.

sPEcrFIcA'rIoN forming part of Letters Patent No. 281,254, dated July 17, 1883.

Application filed July 22, 18852.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, VILLIAM EVANS, of the city and county of Providence, and State of 'Rhode Island, have invented a new and useful Improvement in PickenStick-Operating- Mechanism for Looms 5 and I do hereby declare that the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same, is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to means for giving motion to the picker-sticks oi a loom; and my improvement consists in mounting the piekerstick on a rock-plate which is mounted on a supporting bed -block, and causing a lever worked by the cam-shaft of the loom to engage said rock-plate and give a forward motion to the stick, substantially as hereinafter specified and claimed.

In looms as usually constructed the pickerstick is connected by means of a strap to a shaft rocked by the cam -shaft of the loom to give a forward motion to the stick, which in some varieties of looms is mounted upon a plate intended to rock on a supporting bed-block. rlhe strap which connects the picker-stick to the rock-shaft is attached to the stick at a point about one-third of the length of the stick above its lower end, and at some distance above the rock-plate. The connection of this strap to the pickenstick at apoint considerably above the rock-plate has prevented said plate from rolling on its bed-block when the sudden impulse is given to the stick by the rock-shaft, 35 and has caused said plate to jump from the heel to the toe of its arc and the stick to move forward in the arc of a circle, rising above that path of movement which is productive of the best results, thereby giving to the shuttle.

an irregular and improper motion. Looms thus arranged have to be run at a comparatively low speed, (not exceeding one hundred and sixty to one hundred and eighty picks per minute,) in order to prevent the shuttle from breaking the warps and to prevent it from leaving the race during its movements; and even at low speed constant repairs and new supplies are necessitated, because the shuttle and its boxes become badly worn in a short 5o time, the pickers are quickly battered and split, the picker-sticks soon become worn by (No model.)

the straps, and the straps break. The warps are also chafed by the passage of the shuttle, and defective weaving is the result.

lBefore my invention an unpivoted picker- 5 5 y vone end of its rocker with the usual treadle.

Furthermore, picker-sticks have been provid- 6o ed with concaves on opposite sides of their lower ends, into which iit rollers on which said sticks rock; but the sticks in this instance are also unpivoted, and such structures without a pivot form no part of my invention.

By my improvement the rock-plate, upon which the picker-stick is mounted, is caused to roll throughout the entire length of its arc upon its supporting bed-block, and thereby secure a movement yof the picker-stick in its 7o proper path, and a consequent regular and even movement of the shuttle. The accomplishment of this obj ectv allows the loom to be run at much higher speed, (from two hundred to two hundred and twenty picks a minute,) greatly reduces the amount of repairs and supplies upon the loom, and is productive of much better weaving, as well as an increased amount of goods.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l' repre- "8o sents an end view of a loom embodying my improvement. Fig.. 2 shows in front elevation a portion of the same.

A is the frame of the loom.

B is the cam-shaft, which is driven through gears b c from the driving-shaft C.

D is the lathe, and Eis one of the pickersticks. The picker-stick is secured to a rockplate, F, which is mounted upon a supporting bed-block, G, secured upon and vibrating with 9o the lathe rock-shaft g, and to said stick a depending arm, H, is attached, which is provided with a slot, 7L, through which a bolt, hf, passes, to pivot the stick loosely to the block G.

Pivoted to the frame of the loom is a lever, g5 J, the free end of which engages the forward end or toe of the rock-plate F. This vlever is depressed at the proper time, and the pickerstick moved forward by the engagement of the lever with the toe of the plate F by a cam upon roo t-he shaft B. In the drawings, as shown at Fig.

1, thiscam is a roller, K, which is adjustably mounted on the gear b, although a cam directly secured to the shaft B may be employed, if desired. rlhe action of the lever J on the plate F causes the latter to roll throughout the entire length of its arc upon the block G, thereby securing to the stick and the driven shuttle movements in the proper paths, the stick receiving a true, uniform, and even oscillation, Without j umping, and the shuttlebeing thereby moved in its race in a horizontal right line. The return movement of the stick is produced by a spring, L, Whi'ch is connected to the arm H, as shown at Fig. 2.

Only one picker-stick, one lever, J, and cam K are shown in the drawings; but it is to be understood that the opposite end of the loom is similarly supplied, and that the devices operate alternately, as usual.

By dispensing with the rock-shaft and strap hereinbefore described as employed to give motion to the picker-stick, and using in place thereof a lever which engages the rock-platev on the stick, the loom is simpliiied in construction, and the annoyance and expense of constantly stretching and breaking straps are avoided; undue Wear upon the picker-sticks, the shuttle, and its boxes is prevented; the

pickers last much longer, since they are not struck at varying points by an irregularlymoving shuttle; the movement of the shuttle 3o is uniform and in a proper line, and the Warps are not chafed and broken by the shuttle.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, substantially as herein- 3 5 before set forth, of a loosely-pivoted pickerstick, a roclcplate secured thereto, a bed-block for said rock-plate, a lever arranged, as described, 'to engage the rock-plate, and thereby move the picker-stick, and means, as described, 4o for actuating said lever.

2. The combination, substantially ashereinbefore set forth, of a loosely-pivoted pickerstick, a rock-plate secured thereto, a bed-block for said rock-plate, a lever arranged, as de- 45 scribed, to engage the rock-plate, and thereby move the pickerstick, means, as described, for actuating said lever, and a spring for returning the picker-stick to its normal position.

WM. EVANS.

Witnesses: e

EDsoN SALIsBURY J omas,l HENRY J. STArnLToN. 

